Chapter 1482: The Purpose of Truth
“Don’t tell me you know more about [Truth] than I do?”
Li Fan’s main body sensed the Tiandu Grandmaster’s obstinate words and couldn’t help but find it amusing.
But for some reason, an inexplicable sense of irritation arose along with it.
For the current Li Fan, this was an exceptionally unusual occurrence.
Li Fan was momentarily stunned. After careful consideration, though somewhat reluctantly, he pinpointed the source of his annoyance.
“Could it be that the Grandmaster isn’t wrong?”
His expression grew grave.
After a moment of contemplation, Li Fan tried to communicate with [Truth], but he was met with only silence.
“[Truth]’s regression limit, Anchor Point 1, is set to the moment I first transmigrated.”
“But what exactly determines this?”
After a moment of thought, an idea surfaced uncontrollably in Li Fan's mind.
“It’s ‘me’—the host of [Truth]—whose existence marks the starting point.”
“If this speculation is true, then...”
Li Fan gazed into the distance, at the still hopeful Grandmaster in the sky above Source Dao Province.
“The Grandmaster was born before Saint Tai Yi, before the mortal world even came into being.”
“If it were truly possible to regress to that time, perhaps everything could be reversed.”
“The coming of the Dao Annihilation Calamity, the shattering of the Immortal World... stopping it at its source would be far easier than dealing with the cataclysm it has now become.” Li Fan couldn’t hide the shock in his heart.
However, back when the Black Heaven Physician had tried to seize [Truth], the lifespan of the mortal world had also skyrocketed. From the perspective of the outcome, it seemed to make no difference whether [Truth] was given to the Black Heaven Physician or the Grandmaster.
But Li Fan would never simply hand over [Truth].
Not for any reason.
The source of Li Fan’s unease was that he had suddenly thought of the legendary [Reverse Flow Boat].
“I’ve always had a slight regret. Despite possessing the power of infinite regression, I’ve always been bound to the time after Anchor Point 1. What if...”
“If I could use some method to return to a time before Anchor Point 1, would that mean I could reconstruct an even more ancient past?”
He had never seriously considered this question before, because his very first cycle had begun at Anchor Point 1. His long experience had created a powerful mental inertia, making him subconsciously believe it was impossible.
Until today, when the Grandmaster had inadvertently awakened him to the possibility.
“What is the purpose of [Truth], really?”
Naturally, this question came to Li Fan's mind.
He couldn't help but recall the complex, interwoven, and strange emotions that had emanated from [Truth] back in the Infinite Sea.
[Truth], undoubtedly, had a consciousness of its own.
Li Fan had already confirmed this through the endless past cycles.
And compared to the immense power of [Truth], Li Fan, even in his current half-immortal state, was little more than a slightly larger ant.
Perhaps not even that.
The reason [Truth] was “willing” to attach itself to Li Fan’s body was, of course, because of his incredibly abundant “spirituality,” which seemed inexhaustible no matter how many times [Truth] was activated.
“So, what [Truth] wants is a vessel capable of sustaining its constant regressions.”
“Therefore, it must have its own purpose.”
Realizing this, Li Fan’s mood, surprisingly, calmed.
In any case, being valued by [Truth] was indeed his good fortune. Otherwise, he would have long since died of old age as a mere mortal in the small world of Great Xuan within the Xuanhuang Realm.
Li Fan felt no aversion to the fact that [Truth]’s attachment to him was purposeful.
He even felt a faint sense of joy.
In the past, he had often worried that [Truth] might suddenly leave him. This anxiety hadn't faded as his strength grew; on the contrary, it had become even more intense.
But now...
“A union of interests is far more reassuring.”
Li Fan closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing the thousands of thoughts that surged like furious waves in his mind.
A long time later, he slowly opened his eyes.
He was as calm as ever.
Although [Truth] possessed immense power, their interactions thus far suggested its actions and intentions were, at the very least, logical. Therefore, it was possible to deduce and speculate about them to some extent.
While the lack of information meant his conclusions might not be entirely accurate, he could at least piece together a rough outline of the truth.
“That unknown, terrifying existence submerged beneath the Infinite Sea is an old acquaintance of [Truth].”
“Something happened between them in the past.”
“The consequences were something that even [Truth] itself could not reverse.”
“Therefore, it needs to rely on an ‘external force’.”
...
The moment this thought arose, Li Fan felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
A tempest erupted within his soul.
Countless streams of light and shadow swept over him, blanketing everything.
Every single raindrop contained hundreds of millions of years of time. It was just like the magnificent miracle Li Fan had witnessed in the Infinite Sea, enough to inspire boundless awe in any who beheld it.
This was an amount of information his soul could never withstand.
Every inch of his soul felt as if it were being crushed repeatedly by the entire world. His own memories began to blur, as if he were about to be lost in the endless light and shadow.
Li Fan had once created the Sentient Soul Refinement Formation.
It condensed the thoughts of billions of beings into a colossal force, capable of resisting and even refining a True Immortal.
And what he was now experiencing was the theoretical maximum power of the Sentient Soul Refinement Formation.
In that tempest, it wasn't just the thoughts of worldly beings.
It was the past memories of all existence!
Even with his extraordinary spirituality, Li Fan was on the verge of being consumed by the downpour, of completely losing his sense of self.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, the tempest abruptly ceased.
The awe-inspiring rain of light and shadow vanished in an instant, as if it had never happened.
Only Li Fan's near-total exhaustion proved that it hadn't been an illusion.
After a long while, Li Fan, still shaken, finally recovered a little.
“Just now, that was...”
The entire strange event had occurred within Li Fan's body.
Though he had been caught off guard at the time, looking back, Li Fan had a faint understanding of what had happened.
His heart leaped in his chest, his shock beyond words.
“Did my deduction finally trigger [Truth]’s real thoughts?”
“Its consciousness is so immense that the mere ripples from its fluctuating thoughts were enough to tear me to pieces!”
Li Fan tried his best to calm down.
But hearing about the terror of a supreme being and experiencing it firsthand were two entirely different concepts.
It was as if his body and soul had been imprinted by that violent storm. Every time he recalled it, he felt as if he were reliving it—he could barely breathe, his heart would stop, and cold sweat would pour down his back...
All sorts of instinctual reactions occurred one after another.
After enduring the tempest's baptism once more, Li Fan finally learned his lesson.
He controlled his mind and stopped letting his thoughts run wild.
“No wonder [Truth], despite being conscious, has always been so silent. The few times its consciousness fluctuated, it only ever showed simple emotions.”
“It's not that it disdains communicating with me.”
“It’s that...”
“I simply can't bear the price of communicating with it!”
One must remember, Li Fan was already in the half-immortal realm. Aside from lacking the infinite nature of immortal spiritual power, his strength surpassed that of an ordinary True Immortal by a significant margin.
Yet even so, he didn't even have the ability to withstand [Truth]’s thoughts...
Not even Shou Qiu, who could resist the Dao Annihilation Calamity, had made Li Fan feel such a chasm-like gap in power.
Only when facing the Infinite Sea did Li Fan feel this sense of powerlessness.
“[Truth]’s real power is actually...”
Li Fan was speechless for a long time.
Every time he thought he had seen the limits of [Truth], reality would show him that what he had glimpsed was merely an insignificant peak in a vast mountain range.
It was precisely because he was *within* the mountains, his view obscured by the towering peaks all around, that he couldn't see the full picture of the range.
Now, the mountain range had trembled ever so slightly, nearly turning the world upside down.
Only then could the person within the mountains glimpse their true face.
“At the very least, this proves one thing.”
“The fact that my speculation could stir [Truth]’s thoughts means I must be getting close to the truth.”
Li Fan let out a long sigh of relief.
When he looked at the Grandmaster again, his mindset was completely different.
“It's not that I'm monopolizing a supreme treasure.”
“On the contrary, we are bound by mutual interest.”
“You may claim to be an incarnation of some Wuji, but to think you can just step in like this... you’re far too naive!”
“Do you really think [Truth] hasn't examined you?”
“It simply found you unworthy of notice!”
Amidst the tempest stirred by [Truth]’s thoughts, Li Fan had vaguely seen the memories of all that had ever existed in the mortal world.
“‘When truth becomes falsehood, falsehood also becomes truth.’ Perhaps these memories are the reason the True False Transformation is possible.”
The Grandmaster was a primordial being, so he naturally would have come under [Truth]’s observation much earlier.
But since [Truth] hadn't chosen him, it meant this Grandmaster was simply not qualified!
“It seems that achieving [Truth]’s objective is no easy task.”
“The further back in time one regresses to reconstruct the past, the greater the repulsive force one might encounter.”
“And it's not something that can be accomplished in one or two tries.”
“Tiandu Grandmaster...”
“‘Wuji comes before Tai Yi.’ Such big words, trying to make me hand over [Truth].”
“Then let me see just how much of [Truth] you can withstand!”
In the space of a few breaths, Li Fan, having already returned to his peak state, pointed gently at the Tiandu Grandmaster from afar.
His fingers were like scissors, making a snipping motion in the air.
“I followed my master and witnessed countless rises and falls in the Immortal World. This treasure appeared in the legends of the primordial Immortal World long ago, known to the very first powerful beings. It was just too ethereal and elusive; it was only ever heard of, never truly seen.”
“Thus, the entire Immortal World gradually forgot its existence. Only my master, along with the two Sage Lords, Lian Shan and Gui Hai, would occasionally mention it when they chatted and reminisced about the past.”
“When the Dao Annihilation Calamity drew ever closer, and after all possible methods had been tried and failed, the immortals of the Immortal World finally remembered this legend from a dusty corner of history...”
The Tiandu Grandmaster was still chattering endlessly, showing off his “deep knowledge” to Li Fan’s avatar.
As he was speaking, he suddenly froze, his face filled with shock and suspicion.
An ordinary person would never have sensed such a slight weakening of their own spirituality.
But the Grandmaster, befitting his status as a primordial being, had a body and soul that were perfectly unified and complete.
He immediately sensed that missing sliver.
“What did you do?!”
The Grandmaster's voice was sharp, tinged with panic beneath the anger as he demanded an answer.
Li Fan’s avatar remained expressionless and shrugged.
The words that came out were the same old line: “I don’t know anything.”
This time, the avatar wasn't lying.
He truly didn't know that Li Fan had acted.
When [Truth]’s thoughts had erupted, the subtle connection between him and the main body had been temporarily severed. It still hadn't been restored.
Even though the connection between this avatar and the main body was built upon the projected Dao Web and also incorporated the legacy of Shou Qiu's Shadow Projection for Dao Bearing.
Even that couldn't prevent the isolation.
The Grandmaster's expression shifted a thousand times in an instant. It seemed he had searched everywhere but couldn't find his lost wisp of “spirituality.”
And for a primordial being like him, the completeness of his spirituality seemed to be a matter of utmost importance.
Fear began to creep across the Grandmaster's face.
His expression started to twist as he began to curse wildly at Li Fan’s avatar.
He even forgot about the “treasure” he so desperately coveted.
“Give it back!”
He just kept screaming.
The piercing sound echoed all around, and Li Fan’s avatar frowned slightly.
He realized this scream wasn't just the Grandmaster's impotent rage.
The power of Shou Qiu's projection he was channeling was becoming somewhat chaotic amidst the reverberating cries.
The characteristic of scattering all Great Daos was being pushed to its absolute limit.
No matter how tightly the avatar gripped his opponent's throat, he couldn't stop the sound from escaping.
It was a roar that seemed to originate from before the birth of the world, growing louder and louder. It echoed with the creation of the mortal realm, reverberating to this day, threatening to return this newborn world to its primordial state.
To return everything to the beginning of heaven and earth, to the time of Wuji.
Shou Qiu's projection, after all, was not Shou Qiu himself. The five projections he left behind had not transcended the world, as they served the purpose of “Dao Bearing.”
In the face of the Grandmaster's roar, which threatened to wash away all the Great Daos of the world, even the projection began to show signs of faltering.
But Li Fan’s avatar remained unperturbed.
His connection to the main body had been re-established.
He knew his main body had acted again.
Above the land of Xuanhuang, Li Fan slashed through the air once more.
As if he'd been viciously kicked, the Grandmaster's voice cut off abruptly.
Li Fan gave the Grandmaster no chance to breathe. The blade of True False Transformation fell again and again.
Each time this intangible blade struck the Grandmaster, it felt as if a real, physical object had landed.
The pain the Grandmaster suffered was bizarrely thousands, even tens of thousands of times more intense than what an ordinary person would feel!
Previously, when Li Fan experimented on the cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm, they had shown almost no particular reaction even when their spirituality was completely drained.
But on the Grandmaster, it was no different from having his flesh carved off while he was still alive!
After a few breaths, the Grandmaster was already on the verge of death.
Only then did he seem to realize what was happening.
With a faint voice, he tried to call out for help.
But Li Fan, without a shred of mercy, brought down the final blade.
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